This Sunday, June 30, the National Rally came out on top, ahead of the New Popular Front and the presidential camp. In Nice, we followed the first round of early legislative elections from the left HQ. Story.
Eyes glued to the phones, everyone waiting to find out more. In Nice, the left met in a bar in the old town to follow the first round of the early legislative elections. 20 hours. The first national estimates are falling: nationally, the RN came first with 34% of the votes. “We expected it”, “I remain shocked”, “not totally surprised”…The mood in the HQ is mixed, fear is felt. But here, “We are still waiting to see more clearly”.
The evening continues, with the arrival of the regional results. Éric Ciotti comes first with 41.04% of the votes in the 1st constituency of Alpes-Maritimes. He will face Olivier Salerno, candidate of the New Popular Front, who qualifies for the second round with 26.62% of the votes. Graig Monetti (Ensemble) for its part, received 22.79% of the votes.
“Message of resistance”
The discussions were in the bar, but also outside. The television does not work, we fall back once again on the telephone. “Do you have any more information on your side?”, “I don’t get it well”… Maya is there: “the moment is historic and extremely serious. To have the extreme right so strong is dramatic for France. I voted in the 1st circus, against Ciotti who dared to do the unspeakable. He is first but the Popular Front is second. It reassures me. For me, it’s a message of resistance.”
10:30 p.m. The activists start singing “we are here, even if Bardella doesn’t want to, we are here”. “Now anything is possible” some say. Robert Injey, former leader of the PCF and active citizen rally activist Viva estimate that “The results are very interesting for Olivier Salerno in the first sector.”
“We have a second round that could be very open. Even more so if part of the centre-right electorate, or even the social Gaullist right, decides to use the NFP vote to block the RN.” What will not happen: Graig Monetti, supported by Christian Estrosi, will remain in the race, in a three-way race, we learned on Monday at noon.
In the 3rd constituency, Bernard Chaix (LR-RN) is well in the lead, with 41.47% of the votes. He will face candidate Laure Quignard (NFP) who obtains 27.24%. But not the outgoing and former mayor Philippe Pradal (Together, 25.36%) who is withdrawing in favor of the socialist.
“History in Nice”
Almost 11 p.m., the activists finally leave Old Nice to go to the plaques paying tribute to two resistance fighters, on Place Masséna. “They were hanged by the Nazis in July 1944, on the street lamp you see here. It’s a very powerful place.”
“We are all antifascists“, “Hello beautiful“…The songs continue. Julia Pallano, co-host of the youth group of France Insoumise, explains: “we are obviously happy that two out of three NFP candidates are in the second round. It’s historic in Nice. But I remain very sad to see the far right so high, in the country of freedom and enlightenment. I am very worried.”
“Ciotti you’re screwed, Salerno will be elected”. 11:15 p.m., candidate Olivier Salerno arrives acclaimed by supporters. “We call on voters of the Republican right, heir to social Gaullism, to form a republican front on July 7 against the extreme right by voting for the New Popular Front. There is no inevitability, we can beat the RN and lay the first stones of a fairer world.”
At the microphone of Nice-PresseHe specifies : “we are very happy to be qualified in the second round against Éric Ciotti. It proves that there are a lot of people from popular categories who live in this constituency… They expressed themselves by putting a New Popular Front bulletin in the urn”.
Next to that, “We can’t help but see that the situation is serious. There is a strong turnout for these elections: it has put us in a very good position, but despite everything, the RN is in the lead. We can’t celebrate after a score like that. We risk ending up with Jordan Bardella as Prime Minister and Éric Ciotti as Minister of the Interior.”
There will be no second round in the 5th constituency of the Alpes-Maritimes. Christelle d’Intorni (LR-RN) won the 1st with 50.35% of the votes, well ahead of the ecologist Fabrice Decoupigny (NFP), at 20.6% of the votes.
